A total of 352 cases involving 356 individuals were filed in the Southern District of Texas from August 29 to September 4, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The charges include human smuggling, illegal entry, felony reentry after removal, and assault on a federal officer.
Of the cases reported this week, 21 people are accused of human smuggling. Authorities also charged 194 individuals with illegal entry and another 140 with felony reentry after prior removal. Many of those charged have previous felony convictions for offenses such as narcotics violations, violent crimes, and immigration-related offenses. One case involves an alleged assault on a law enforcement officer.
Three Guatemalan nationals were extradited in connection with a fatal incident in Chiapas, Mexico in 2021 that resulted in more than 50 deaths and over 100 injuries when a tractor-trailer carrying at least 160 migrants crashed. The accused—Tomas Quino Canil, Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, and Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala—were arrested in Guatemala last December and appeared in Laredo on September 4. If convicted, they could face life imprisonment for conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the United States while placing lives at risk.
Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on the extradition case: “Human smugglers do not care if the people they transport live or die,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas. “They do not care if unaccompanied children have food, water, or even air to breathe. They respect neither the law nor basic principles of decency. They care for only one thing—the blood money they make from the suffering of others. But these extraditions show that the United States will never tire in pursuing them. There is no border, no refuge that can shield these criminals from justice.”
Among other cases this week is an incident where Mexican national Jesus Gabriel De Lira-Villapando allegedly rushed at and pushed a Border Patrol agent during an arrest attempt on September 2 before being apprehended after a short chase.
Four additional complaints involve foreign nationals who allegedly attempted to unlawfully reenter the country after recent removals earlier this year; two are Mexican nationals removed within the past two months and two are Honduran nationals removed earlier this year—all with prior convictions for various offenses.
Mexican national Juan Antonio Ruiz-Gutierrez was also charged after authorities found him near Penitas following his previous removal in April 2013; he has a prior conviction for indecency with child sexual contact.
If convicted of felony illegal reentry after removal, these five defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
In Brownsville, Daniel Antonio Varcenas-Aguilar pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry following his discovery by law enforcement near Brownsville on July 12; he has a prior conviction for aggravated assault of a child and faces sentencing in November.
A separate case involved Marco Cupil-Hernandez, who was sentenced to fifteen months in federal prison for assaulting a Border Patrol agent during an encounter near Laredo.
Federal agencies supporting these prosecutions include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations; Border Patrol; Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; as well as state and local partners.
These actions are part of Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations by coordinating resources from multiple agencies including Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods (https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf).
The Southern District’s leadership continues to prioritize public safety through enhanced enforcement efforts along both border areas and within its jurisdiction (https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/about). The district covers more than nine million residents across forty-three counties with Assistant U.S. Attorneys operating out of seven divisions throughout southern Texas.
It is noted that indictments or criminal complaints are formal accusations rather than evidence; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process.
